Chapter 2: Love Mimi

Someone must have said something funny because the long table erupted in laughter, everyone other than Joanne that is. She sat glaring at her father, he mush have made the funny/humiliating remark.

"Oh come on Pookie," Maureen cooed. "It was funny."

"No it wasn't," Joanne said her voice tight and lips set in an even tighter line. "I was fourteen for goodness sakes!"

I briefly wondered what I had missed but my restless mind couldn't remain focused. My eyes fell on the tiny silver ring I wore on my pinkie. It was a cheap thing from one of those machines that you put a quarter in and your prize comes out in little plastic egg. Little hearts had been pressed into the cheap metal and they gleamed in the mood lighting of the restaurant. It was all I had left of her, a cheap ring that was so tiny it only fit on my pinkie and barely there at that. So much for the everlasting love I thought I had. It had eroded away due to drugs, infidelity, and all the other shit the world had decided to throw at us, until all that was left was a snuffed out candle and a love song that was beginning to not sound as perfect as it once had.

I still remember finding the note, women I love always leave notes when they're about to leave me forever. First April had left her note, "We have AIDS". What the fuck kind of note was that anyway? No "I love you Roger". No "I'm sorry I ruined your life?" Just three little words that almost completely ended my life along with hers in that bloody bathroom. But I had managed to move on. Move on into the arms of Mimi. Mimi, the name still hurt. She had been my savior brought me back to life and I done the same for her, at least I thought I had. Mimi had at least had the decency to right an actual letter.

"Dear Roger,
I don't want you to think that I don't love you because I do. I love you more than I can put into words but I can't stay. My mother is sick. I'm going out West to be with her. I'm not coming back, I might not get to come back. It's better this way. Please move on, I need to know that you're happy. We both know that I don't have much time left. I know you never wanted to watch me die and this way you won't have to.
Love,
Mimi"

She'd actually signed it "Love, Mimi", even after in the end she found a way to blame her leaving on me. I didn't want to watch her die so she had to leave as a favor to me. She would remain Mimi the poor girl with the emotionally unattached boyfriend who had to leave for his own good. And I would remain Roger the fuck-up who could never face up to his feelings and lost the woman he loved because of it. I would always be Roger the fuck-up.

Mark caught my eye and mouthed the words, 'You wanna get you of here?' to me and I nodded.

Neither of us offered an explanation as to why were suddenly leaving the small party but then again noone bothered to ask.

"I can't believe Joanne and Maureen are engaged," Mark sighed as we made our way towards Avenue B.

I shrugged, "It's not like it's not like they're really engaged Mark, two chicks can't get married."

"It doesn't matter if they're getting married or not," he insisted. "It's just that fact that Maureen is committing herself to Joanne, something I could never get her to do for me."

I shrugged again, personally they only thing I thought Maureen needed to be committed to was a psych ward but Mark probably didn't want to hear that. "If it makes you feel any better I bet that before the end of the night Maureen will probably end up crashing on out couch because Joanne kicked her out."

"That really doesn't make me feel any better Rog."

"Can't blame me for trying."

"You weren't trying," he sighed. "You were just being your normal jackass self."

"Hey," I said raising my hands as to ward off the insult. "You're the one whose upset, I was just being a friend and trying to cheer you up, and then you go out calling me a jackass."

"But I don't want Maureen and Joanne to fail as a couple."

"What?" I asked truly confounded by Mark even though he'd been my best friend for years. "You're totally still in love in with Maureen, hell you were afraid to see her after you two broke up but then didn't stop you from running to her as soon she needed your help. But you want her to be with Joanne the woman she left you for, even though you're completely freaking out over the fact that they're committing to each other. You make no fucking sense!"

Mark didn't seem to phased by what I said, we'd had this conversation many times before. "I can't explain the complex inner workings of my mind."

"I think you've been spending to much time behind that camera of yours."

"Hey, I didn't bring it to dinner tonight."

"Yeah," I snorted. "After I pried it out of your hands."

"Like you're any better with that guitar of yours," he retorted. "When's the last time you've spent more than an hour away from that thing."

"Tonight," I answered smugly.

"You're a child."

I rolled my eyes, "And you're a whiny little bitch."

"That reminds me, Collins called." I stared at Mark unsure of how my calling him a 'whiny little bitch' made him think of Collins. "He'll be back in town soon."

"I still can't believe MIT took him back just to fire him again," I sighed thinking of my favorite anarchist / philosopher / professor.

Mark didn't respond, he was looking at something. We had just turned onto Avenue B and the building which housed our industrial loft was in view but that wasn't what had caught his eye. Two girls, at least they appeared to be girls, were wondering down the nearly deserted street. They walked with such uncertainty it was clear they were lost.

I shook my head knowing what Mark was thinking. "No man it's late let's just go home."

"But they look like they're lost and it's not safe for them to be out."

"Exactly, it's not safe. How many times has Collins been mugged by people pretending to need help?"

"Once," Mark shot back. "And you don't seriously believe that they're going to mug us, do you?"

I shrugged, "They might. This New York, don't trust anyone you don't know."

"Angel would have helped them." Mark said starting to pick up his pace to catch up with the girls.

I sighed at that, indeed Angel would have walked up to the girls and if they had been truly lost helped them find their way back to where ever they needed to be. Mark had always been in awe of the time Angel had helped the lost group of tourists get out of Alphabet City and was now properly thinking this was his chance to do the same. Never mind that it had been broad daylight when Angel had helped her groups of tourists, not the middle of the night.

"Wait," I called as shortened the distance between himself and the girls. He didn't listen but kept jogging. "They're going to rape you Mark and you're to scrawny to defend yourself!" He still didn't turn. I heaved a sigh and began to try and catch up with my chivalrous friend.

(Jane)

"I can't believe we ran out of gas," Stephanie muttered as we made our way cautiously down the dark street. A car honked it's horn on some adjacent street causing her to jump, we weren't in the best neighborhood that was for sure.

"I can't believe those chicken shits refused to get out of the stupid car, I mean they are such little wusses, I think you should have let me kill..."

She held up her hand to silence me. "Did you hear that?" I hadn't heard anything. "Voices," she insisted.

I closed my eyes, for some reason unknown to me I heard better with my eyes closed. I was about to tell Steph that she was off her rocker when I heard them. The sounded male but I couldn't make out any of the words. "Omigod!" I cried suddenly wishing I had stayed in the car. "Let's go."

"Shouldn't we see if they can help?" Steph asked hesitantly as if she didn't want to do it but she felt that she should. "I mean we can't assume that everyone is going to hurt us."

"Yeah I guess..." I stopped mid sentence. I heard the voices again, this time one was yelling and I had definitely heard the word 'rape'.

Stephanie must have heard it because she looked at me and cried, "Run!"

Now one thing about Stephanie and I is that we were never the most coordinated of people and when we made a run for it, it was pretty much a catastrophe. Somehow one of my legs hooked around one of hers sending both of us wobbling. Stephanie apparently thought it would be wise to keep trying to run and that sent me flopping to the ground. Now maybe I'm a bad friend but I didn't think that it would have been fair if she got away and I was raped by a homicidal manic, so I grabbed her leg before she could get away. Maybe that hadn't been the best plan. I had hit the ground with my arms out to help break the fall but Stephanie hadn't been as prepared for her spill as I had. She hit the hard sidewalk head first with a sickening crack.

"Stephanie?" I asked tentatively shaking her leg.

"You bitch," she groaned turning to look at me. There was a cut on her forehead and I could see a bruise beginning to form but other than that she seemed fine. "Why'd you grab my leg." She closed her eyes and laid her head back against the concrete before I could answer. I prayed silently that she wasn't having a concussion or something.

"So we could die together," I answered even though I was pretty sure she couldn't hear me. I listened to footsteps getting closer. "And you know what? Our mothers were right, we shouldn't have come to New York. We should have gone to Disney World or something safe like that." I was completely freaking out now but come on I was lying on the sidewalk in New York waiting for someone I was pretty sure wanted to rape me to catch up. It occurred to me briefly that I could have got up and left Stephanie laying there most likely unconscious. But I didn't instead I closed my eyes and cried for Stephanie to wake up.

"Omigod, are you guys alright?" a concerned voice asked.

I opened my eyes to see a friendly face looking down at me. Bright blue eyes behind thick square frame accessed me. The glasses and the fact that the guy's hair was cut short and stuck up slightly in the front reminded instantly of my little brother. Not exactly what you expect from your rapist.

"I'm fine," I answered relief evident in my voice. "But my friend." I sat up finally realizing how ridiculous I must have looked just laying there when there was nothing really wrong with me. "She hit her head."

The guy nodded but was cut off by the arrival of another guy. "Jesus Christ! What happened to them?

"We fell," I answered looking at the new guy. I was relieved that the first guy had been there when I opened my eyes, the second guy would have been a much more intimidating sight. His bleached blonde hair fell in waves that brushed against the back of his collar in a way that seemed almost wild and untamed. Piercings gleamed from his ears, I counted five in each, and when he spoke I saw a gleam that looked suspiciously like a tongue stud. His green eyes seemed to look deceivingly dull, almost as if there was a fire lit beneath but it was reaching all the way to surface.

"Why'd you pull your friend down?" the first guy asked. "I mean if you don't mind me asking. It's just I saw you go down and then you grabbed her leg." I blushed embarrassed by my actions. "I wasn't thinking, I guess I just didn't want her to leave me."

"Is she okay?" the second guy asked looking at Stephanie still form.

I shook my head and felt my eyes well with something that felt suspiciously like tears. "I don't know. She said a couple things to me but then she just laid her head back down. I think she might have a concussion."

Guy number one nodded and guy number two grabbed his arm pulling him away from me. I watched them talk for a while but couldn't hear what they were saying, they properly didn't want me to hear what they're saying. They seemed to be arguing but like I said I couldn't hear them so I wasn't sure. Finally they walked back to me. Guy number two moved passed me and moved to pick Stephanie off the ground.

"Hey!" I cried.

Guy number one looked at me and smiled slightly. "We live in a loft in that building right over there." I followed his hand to a what looked like a rundown warehouse to me, well it was the only warehouse I'd ever seen with fire escapes. "You guys can stay there until she wakes up."

Guy number two gave me a exasperated look and I gave him a slight nod. He bent down and picked Stephanie up. I felt almost sick when I saw how limply she hung in his arms.

Suddenly I remembered the three chicken shits in the Toyota. "Our other friends are waiting in our car. We ran out of gas and they stayed behind with the car. It's a ways down there." I pointed in the direction Stephanie and I trekked. As much as I hated to think it, it wouldn't have been right to leave them in the car.

Guy number one nodded, "Okay. You and I will go get them and Roger will take your friend back to the loft."

I didn't know if I wanted to leave Stephanie but it seemed like the best thing to do. I nodded and guy number two, apparently his name was Roger, started with Stephanie towards the building guy number one had pointed to.

"Don't worry she'll be fine," he said as if sensing my worry. "Roger won't hurt her."

"Okay," I said my voice was softer than normal. "I'm Jane by the way. Jane Davis."

He smiled at that. "Davis, huh?" I nodded unsure of what was so interesting about my last name. "I'm Mark Cohen."